The Glycemic Index tells us how quickly a food that you eat raises your blood sugar, and therefore causes a surge in insulin release from your pancreas. Insulin is what tells our bodies to store the extra calories as fat.

Further, foods with a high glycemic index will cause you to feel extremely hungry later on. In about 3-4 hours you will start to feel extremely hungry and want to eat anything and everything in sight. Why?

If you eat a large, high glycemic index food now, like beer or white bread, your blood sugar will rise to very high levels, very quickly. This causes a subsequent rise in the amount of insulin your pancreas releases. Insulin lasts longer in your blood stream and your sugar will eventually fall to lower levels than your baseline. This lower sugar (hypoglycemia) will cause your body to go into distress mode and it will make you feel very hungry. You will have to satisfy this craving and will mostly likely reach for something very sweet that has a high glycemic index. This starts the viscious cycle all over again.

We have to try and avoid this situation by eating foods that have a low glycemic index. Take a look at the charts and tables on this page and the following pages for a look at which foods in each category have the lowest and highest glycemic index.

You will notice that beer (maltose) is the worst of all, while most vegetables are very low. Foods with a GI (Glycemic Index) lower than 55 are considered Low. Foods with a GI of 55-70 are considered Medium. Foods with a GI over 70 are considered High.

Food List

Rating

Food Glycemic Index

Baked Goods

*Pound cake

Low

54

Danish pastry

Medium

59

Muffin (unsweetened)

Medium

62

Cake , tart

Medium

65

Cake, angel

Medium

67

Croissant

Medium

67

Waffles

High

76

Doughnut

High

76

Beverages

Soya milk

Low

30

Apple juice

Low

41

Carrot juice

Low

45

Pineapple juice

Low

46

Grapefruit juice

Low

48

Orange juice

Low

52

Biscuits

Digestives

Medium

58

Shortbread

Medium

64

Water biscuits

Medium

65

Ryvita

Medium

67

Wafer biscuits

High

77

**Rice cakes

High

77

Breads

Multi grain bread

Low

48

Whole grain

Low

50

Pita bread, white

Medium

57

Pizza, cheese

Medium

60

Hamburger bun

Medium

61

Rye-flour bread

Medium

64

Whole meal bread

Medium

69

White bread

High

71

White rolls

High

73

Baguette

High

95

Breakfast Cereals

All-Bran

Low

42

Porridge, non instant

Low

49

Oat bran

Medium

55

Muesli

Medium

56

Mini Wheats (wholemeal)

Medium

57

Shredded Wheat

Medium

69

Golden Grahams

High

71

Puffed wheat

High

74

Weetabix

High

77

Rice Krispies

High

82

Cornflakes

High

83

Cereal Grains

Pearl barley

Low

25

Rye

Low

34

Wheat kernels

Low

41

Rice, instant

Low

46

Rice, parboiled

Low

48

Barley, cracked

Low

50

Rice, brown

Medium

55

Rice, wild

Medium

57

Rice, white

Medium

58

Barley, flakes

Medium

66

Taco Shell

Medium

68

Millet

High

71

Dairy Foods

Yogurt low- fat (sweetened)

Low

14

Milk, chocolate

Low

24

Milk, whole

Low

27

Milk, Fat-free

Low

32

Milk ,skimmed

Low

32

Milk, semi-skimmed

Low

34

*Ice-cream (low- fat)

Low

50

*Ice-cream

Medium

61

Fruits

Cherries

Low

22

Grapefruit

Low

25

Apricots (dried)

Low

31

Apples

Low

38

Pears

Low

38

Plums

Low

39

Peaches

Low

42

Oranges

Low

44

Grapes

Low

46

Kiwi fruit

Low

53

Bananas

Low

54

Fruit cocktail

Medium

55

Mangoes

Medium

56

Apricots

Medium

57

Apricots (tinned in syrup)

Medium

64

Raisins

Medium

64

Pineapple

Medium

66

**Watermelon

High

72

Pasta

Spaghetti, protein enriched

Low

27

Fettuccine

Low

32

Vermicelli

Low

35

Spaghetti, whole wheat

Low

37

Ravioli, meat filled

Low

39

Spaghetti, white

Low

41

Macaroni

Low

45

Spaghetti, durum wheat

Medium

55

Macaroni cheese

Medium

64

Rice pasta, brown

High

92

Root Crop

Carrots, cooked

Low

39

Yam

Low

51

Sweet potato

Low

54

Potato, boiled

Medium

56

Potato, new

Medium

57

Potato, tinned

Medium

61

Beetroot

Medium

64

Potato, steamed

Medium

65

Potato, mashed

Medium

70

Chips

High

75

Potato, micro waved

High

82

Potato, instant

High

83

**Potato, baked

High

85

Parsnips

High

97

Snack Food and Sweets

Peanuts

Low

15

*M&Ms (peanut)

Low

32

*Snickers bar

Low

40

*Chocolate bar; 30g

Low

49

Jams and marmalades

Low

49

*Crisps

Low

54

Popcorn

Medium

55

Mars bar

Medium

64

*Table sugar (sucrose)

Medium

65

Corn chips

High

74

Jelly beans

High

80

Pretzels

High

81

Dates

High

103

Soups

Tomato soup, tinned

Low

38

Lentil soup, tinned

Low

44

Black bean soup, tinned

Medium

64

Green pea soup, tinned

Medium

66

Vegetable and Beans

Artichoke

Low

15

Asparagus

Low

15

Broccoli

Low

15

Cauliflower

Low

15

Celery

Low

15

Cucumber

Low

15

Eggplant

Low

15

Green beans

Low

15

Lettuce, all varieties

Low

15

Low-fat yogurt, artificially sweetened

Low

15

Peppers, all varieties

Low

15

Snow peas

Low

15

Spinach

Low

15

Young summer squash

Low

15

Tomatoes

Low

15

Zucchini

Low

15

Soya beans, boiled

Low

16

Peas, dried

Low

22

Kidney beans, boiled

Low

29

Lentils green, boiled

Low

29

Chickpeas

Low

33

Haricot beans, boiled

Low

38

Black-eyed beans

Low

41

Chickpeas, tinned

Low

42

Baked beans, tinned

Low

48

Kidney beans, tinned

Low

52

Lentils green, tinned

Low

52

Broad beans

High

79

Notes:
*high in empty calories
**low-calorie and nutritious foods

If you want a more detailed list or if you'd like to search for specific foods that aren't listed here, go to the Official Glycemic Index Website: http://www.glycemicindex.com/